Mochi (餠, もち) is a Japanese rice cake made of steamed glutinous rice that is pounded into a thick and chewy rice cake. You might think mochi is a solid/hard food as you may have seen block of hard mochi sold in supermarket in Japan, but after you cook mochi, it will become sticky and soft.
What is mochi made out of?
Mochi is made out of water and mochigome, which is a short grain glutinous rice that is used specifically for cooking mochi (Gome or Kome means rice in Japanese language so it means mochi rice). The rice is pounded and mashed into paste and made into shape.
Where can you buy mochi?
Mochi is available in supermarkets and convenient stores in Japan. There are shops that specialised in making and selling mochi. Shops that sell rice may be selling mochi as well.
How to cook mochi?
You can boil or grill mochi. Once the heat is applied to the dry mochi, the glutinous rice will become soft and chewy.
To boil – simply prepare good amount of water in a pot. Add dry mochi and let it boil until mochi softens.
To grill – you can use grill/oven to cook. You can also use fry pan and cook both sides. Let the mochi cook until it’s golden brown on both sides.
What are the common ways of eating mochi?
1. Ozoni （お雑煮）
Ozoni is a soup-based mochi.
2. Kinako Mochi（きな粉餅）
Boil or grill mochi and mix with soy bean powder. To sweeten, add sugar to the soy bean powder.
3. Isobeyaki（磯辺焼き）
Soy sauce flavoured grilled mochi.
4. Oshiruko（お汁粉）
Mochi in red bean soup.
